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By Dave Lake
MSN TV
After an 18-month wait, "24" is back. Well, sort of. You'll have to wait until January for the start of the new season, but on Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. PT/ET you can whet your whistle with "24: Redemption," a two-hour, stand-alone adventure that bridges the long gap between Seasons 6 and 7. In the special, Jack Bauer is caught in a military coup in Africa, while a new president -- a female president -- is being inaugurated back at home.
That new prez is played by Tony winner Cherry Jones, who leaves a successful Broadway career to take on her first role in series television. Of the role, executive producer Howard Gordon said: "It's time to go back to an idealized president. It is an heroic administration. Cherry Jones plays the president brilliantly." And we were lucky enough to be there with her on set, in the Oval Office no less, with a handful of TV journalists, to get the scoop on President Allison Taylor from an actress who was very happy to be playing the role. Read on for what Jones had to say about the new season, the show's new president, and on having a woman in the White House.
On joining the cast: I'd never watched the show before joining it -- maybe just a couple of episodes. And I've been catching up the past several months, and I'm a complete "24" head now. I haven't slept the last couple of nights! I come into work and I feel like a tourist. I'm a little starstruck and a little gob-smacked.
On why she decided to leave theater for a role on television: It was a perfect storm of things. I'm 50 years old and I've been onstage for 30 years doing eight [performances] a week. And I'd just finished 708 performances of a play called "Doubt," which I did on Broadway and then toured the country. And I was tired and I needed a break from theater. Then, lo and behold, this meeting came up about this television show that I'd always heard was excellent -- but I'm not big on violence -- so I watched it and fell in love with it. And then the icing on the cake was that it was the president of the United States and not just a mom. Nothing against mom, but it was certainly a rather exciting role for a middle-aged actress.
On the president's role in "24: Redemption": I get sworn in on the Capitol steps! And it's going to be a nice clip to look at as an elderly woman. Basically, I'm the Plot B to Mr. Bauer's Plot A. He is in Africa and it happens to be the day of the transition of power as President Daniels is going out and President Taylor is coming in.
On her relationship to Jack Bauer: It's always shifting because Jack doesn't play by the rules. My president does and it's a very complicated relationship, but I'm interested to see where it goes next, just like the audience. You feel just like an audience member when you get a script. You get to the makeup trailer and you ask your friends if they've seen the draft of the next script because everybody's always dying to know.
On the breakneck pace of the show: I keep a little timeline in my head to try to remind myself of what's come before. I remember [co-creator] Joel Surnow, when I had my first meeting with him, saying that actors love to do the show because there is no past and no future, there's only the moment. You can't be worried or thinking about anything because the moment is so dire. Every time the door opens or the phone rings it just gets worse and worse and worse. It's such a cliché, but it's like being on a roller coaster, because you just don't know what in the world is coming next.
On whether she was glued to the U.S. presidential election, knowing she's playing a politician: I watched with rapt awe as Obama and Hillary campaigned this last year, and their energy level and their ability to look ever more youthful at every stop. I don't know how they did it. Only someone with super energy, I think, could really fill this office.
On whether Allison Taylor was modeled after any particular political females: Allison Taylor has a very rough road to hoe this season. I have my hands full. There are times that I think I should be much more exhausted and disheveled and dejected, and I think of people like Hillary and Eleanor Roosevelt and Golda Meir in particular -- that's sort of the kind of gal I like to think of her as.
On whether her scenes are fun to play: "24" has about as much humor as "The Crucible." You have a lot of tension. You walk away from the takes going, "Whew!" It's sort of hair-raising.
On whether Allison Taylor has a rich backstory to draw from: I don't even know what state I'm from, but it doesn't matter. The brilliance of "24," too, is that, politically, you never know what party people belong to. You start to sniff people out, but, with the presidents, if you don't like them they're the other party, and if you do like them, they're your party.
On the significance of having a woman in the White House: I don't think it's really ever addressed. It's treated in the same way that David Palmer's presidency was treated -- as a given. But, boy, how about that -- six years ago, America had its first black president thanks to "24."
On the short life of many "24" characters: Our great costume designer had put me in a wine suit at one point, and he jokingly said it's like body armor because they aren't going to kill you in a wine costume. There's no point, because you wouldn't see the blood. But, yes, I love to come to work here. I come to work giddy in the morning because the atmosphere is very exciting.
On whether she prefers the immediate crowd reaction of the theater as opposed to the delayed response of TV work: I'm loving that we're going to be completely in the bag by the time we air, so it gives me a few more months of anonymity, which I've always treasured, and which I know will probably go away for a couple of years.
On whether she has a favorite season of the show: I loved the Greg Itzin/Jean Smart stuff. As an actor, it doesn't get any better than that. That was just brilliant. It was so Shakespearean. It was just delicious and they were so good. I just loved Season 5.
On whether she's disappointed she doesn't get to have action
scenes: I went up to Howard Gordon, who said, "You know, if you ever
have any ideas, don't hesitate to come to me." And I said, "Well, what if
something happens and Jack has to come and smuggle the president out of the
White House and we have to go all over Washington, D.C., in a
babushka!"
Are you excited about the new season of "24"? Write us at
heymsn@microsoft.com and let us
know.
